Paris sued for failing to keep Damiani jewels safe

LA socialite and heiress Paris Hilton is reportedly being sued by Allianz Global – one of the world’s biggest insurers – for not returning borrowed jewellery worth US$60,000.

The jewels were originally borrowed from luxury jeweller Damiani by Hilton in 2008, on the condition that she kept them safe. They were apparently stolen from her home in the same year, with Damiani suggesting Hilton left her property unlocked at the time of the break-in while she went to a party.

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Police recovered a bag of jewellery which they returned to Hilton after making arrests for the robbery. Despite repeated attempts to contact Hilton and her lawyers with a view to having the jewels returned, Allianz Global says the heiress has been uncooperative and, to date, none of the Damiani pieces have been returned to jewellery house.

A spokesperson for Hilton said: "We are not aware of any of the Damiani items being recovered by the police [in the first place]. Only costume jewellery was recovered."

The lawsuit comes weeks after actress Lindsay Lohan has faced accusations of stealing jewellery from a Beverly Hills jewellery store. Lohan was accused of failing to return jewellery loaned to her by jewellery Kamofie & Co. In her defence, Lohan claimed the store has used her as a tool for free marketing and complained that the jewellery had been stolen when they saw no return of interest from the public.